Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior's Oath: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 4

by M. H. Johnson

  And the shadow puma beyond the barrier lay exactly as it had before, the utter disintegration Alex had feared not coming to pass at all.

  Yet another terrible roar rocked the cavern.

  Alex thought he heard the sound of stones either collapsing or exploding in the distance.

  He did not hesitate another second, quickly refilling the carved channel with Qi-saturated blood, stepping past the moment he sensed the barrier collapse, then drawing up his darkened blood once more.

  He flashed a grimace equal parts pride and terror as he stumbled forward, sick with dread, for the shimmering miniature pyramid itself, taking a deep breath as he approached the triple indentations within the obsidian that he had sensed such powerful Qi flow from, analyzing it carefully, praying he could figure out the puzzle before the dreadful Gold finally came for his head.

  Considering how kind the fates had been to him so far in this life, he did not doubt for a second that he was the creature’s ultimate target.

  Artifice skill check made! You understand the inner workings of mystical treasures better than ever!

  Alex blinked, giving a relieved nod when he thought he finally understood the puzzle, each indentation an inverted lever of sorts that could be pulled in one of four directions. Assuming one could pull all three slots in the right directions simultaneously, the door would open.

  And if the alignment of Earth and Water Qi was any indication, it was only by shifting all three straight up that the hidden door would reveal itself.

  All other directions led to Lightning and Fire.

  Alex swallowed preparing himself, before realizing that there was a tiny problem.

  He only had two hands.

  Finesse check made!

  But with 20 Finesse and a hell of a lot of desperation, he was happy to punt, wrapping two hands and one foot in sheaths of Dark Qi before feeling for the latches in all 3 indentations, then shoving them straight up in unison.

  Before lurching back as he heard a deadly click...

  Only for an indentation to slowly form in the obsidian wall before him, sliding back to reveal a grand arching staircase descending down into the cavern floor.

  Alex almost lost his balance when a terrible roar washed over him, forcing panicked feet to turn around and do what he must.

  Because if there was one thing that would give the game away to a predator with a human’s cunning who understood the nature of this place, an intact body beyond a ward that should have disintegrated it would make it clear that someone had entered the tunnel.

  It was a moment of sheer terror, feeling like a quick, furtive mouse, forced to expose himself to ravenous predators before darting back for cover, but he had no choice. He quickly gathered the body of the shadow puma before racing and diving back through the closing door of the pyramid entrance, having felt the terrible Golden gaze of an alien intelligence focusing on him... before being cut off abruptly as the entrance to the pyramidal structure abruptly closed.

  And then there was no sound at all, save for his own desperate breathing.

  “That was too close!” he whispered to himself, knowing that he would have done it all over again if he had to.

  And the last thing Alex wanted was to be trapped in a chamber of death while a massive Gold beast tore through dirt and stone, eager to get its terrible claws on the human that perhaps the gods themselves had ordered it to hunt down.

  It was some time before his desperate gasps eased, and the terrible weight of panicked dread so thick he feared choking on it wouldn’t abate.

  Not until he had made his way down not dozens but hundreds of stone steps, the entire stairway lit up by a soothing green-tinted light, as if he wasn’t trapped in the underworld, impossibly far away from friends or help, but rather taking his ease in a cool forest glade, the smell of wildflowers and the rustle of trees washing all his cares away.

  Of course Alex was in no forest glade; he was still making his way down green tinted steps leading ever deeper into the earth. Yet the soothing, peaceful feeling remained.

  And when his eyes made out what seemed to be the exit far, far below, he felt a certain spring in his step, knowing it was sheer madness to expect it, yet somehow not surprised to pass under a narrow arch and emerge under the rustling branches of an entire grove’s worth of fruit trees, the ground covered in a patina of leaves and rich forest loam, verdant shafts of light spearing through the thick forest canopy and caressing his skin as he gazed about in awe, before laughing with delight and wonder.

  He had made it.

  He was free!

  Before freezing as one hand reached for a luscious low-hanging fruit, forcing himself to take in his surroundings and really be sure.

  What he sensed left him shaking his head, sheerest exhilaration crashing back down to realistic expectation.

  Yes, he was surrounded by a wondrous forest of green.

  But his Qi Perception made it clear that, at least to his rear, he was surrounded by stone. And all he had to do was listen to the strange echoes of colorful birds chirping their songs in the trees to realize that he wasn’t outside at all, but in a vast, underground cavern still, the sides and ceiling above well-hidden by a copious plethora of trees and the thick, lush, fruit-laden canopy overhead.

  Succulent fruit he took no harm from eating, as he knew he wouldn’t in this bastion of solace in the mad storms of fate and chaos all around him. Or so he chose to believe, too tired to fear traps and threats even here.

  And indeed, the wondrous woodland sanctuary couldn’t be more inviting as Alex slowly walked the forest trail through the heart of the cavern, sensing no carnivorous sentience, nor any sentience at all.

  But the flood of Wood, Water, and Earth Qi filtered down from between the fruit-laden trees was strangely familiar.

  Then he froze in utter stillness, and truly tried to sense what shone from beyond the canopy above.

  But the secrets were well beyond the sixty feet limits of Alex’s gift, so he did the only thing he could, scaling the nearest tree with his powerful, graceful body as quickly as the impulse struck him, bursting through the canopy to behold a sight that left him trembling with awe.

  The entire domed cavern rooftop was absolutely covered in silverbell blossoms. Absolutely priceless treasures radiating gentle silver white light onto the forest below, feeding and nurturing it every bit as well as the sun.

  The wealth before him was incalculable.

  And Alex had no way to store any of it.

  He couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of it all, his golden peals ringing through the chamber, bitter frustration turning to exhausted joy, mood instantly lightening, realizing how absurd he was being.

  Who cared if he lacked the means to immediately pluck this fortune?

  He was whole, he was healthy, he was a powerhouse who could now recover from nearly any illness or injury, and he had discovered a cavern full of wondrous secrets when, by all rights, he should be decomposing in the belly of a massive amoeba right now. For all the hardships he had endured this past year, he had beheld treasures and experienced wonders that would see him a lifetime of free drinks in any tavern, should he regale bored merchants or tired peasants with the wondrous tales that were his own.

  Alex closed his eyes, breathing deep of air he realized had only a fraction of the saturated Dark Qi he had sensed in the cavern above, before climbing back down the tree he had perched upon and continuing along the path, feeling truly at peace for the first time in weeks.

  Had it truly only been a couple handfuls of days since the joyous two months he had spent learning the basics of White Crane kung fu under Elder Panheu’s almost gentle tutelage? Before his mentor’s demeanor had changed entirely, and Alex had been forged in the crucible of conflict and overwhelming odds.

  He shook his head in wonder. He had come so far in such a short period of time that it was beyond fathoming.

  Yet it still didn’t change the fact that if he were to survive in the world
above, with so many pieces arrayed against him, he needed to get stronger, faster, no matter how absurd his rate of progression already was.

  Far better to exist as an outrageous anomaly than to not exist at all.

  Alex continued walking along the path for a time, wondering just how vast this cavern complex truly was, when the verdant green foliage abruptly opened up into a clearing. He squinted, gazing up at where the sun should be... but of course there were only brilliantly glowing silverbells, their rays of pristine Qi so like shafts of sunlight spearing through the lush green foliage to the naked eye.

  He smiled and shook his head, having wondered for a breathless moment if he had somehow made it back to the surface... but what caught his gaze caused him just as much excitement as finding himself breathing outside air would have.

  In the middle of the cozy little glade was a flourishing garden full of every variety of herb or blossom he had ever picked or even seen, a rainbow of colorful petals and softly glowing Qi, and in its heart was a structure oddly reminiscent the pyramid perhaps a mile over his head, save that instead of being shimmering obsidian, the edifice before him seemed to be made of either an exotic translucent alloy, or perhaps just perfectly clear glass.

  His eyes widened further to see an exotic contraption of gold and crystal in the heart of the pyramid, and his first hunch was that it was a projector of some sort, though of course there was no way of knowing from here. And of course, in this time and place, such technology should be impossible.

  Shouldn’t it?

  He could barely hold his excitement as he approached the translucent pyramid, eager fingers freezing only a millimeter from touching its surface.

  Before he froze, heart racing, wondering how close he had just come to absolute destruction.

  Before lurching back with a surprised grin when a circular opening flowed naturally open, as if he approached an exotic alien vessel... or perhaps the maw of some arcane beast.

  He shivered, quickly shaking away that chilling thought, having come too close to death to ever want to look at a microscopic slide filled with undulating amoebas or a slug with its pseudopod-like eye stalks, ever again.

  He took a deep breath, then covered his hands, shins, and feet in Dark Qi armor before daring to step inside.

  You have summoned Dark Qi Armor! Fists, feet, and lower legs protected. Dark Qi ambience approximates surface levels. 1 Qi point used. You will expend one additional point from your Qi Pool per minute, divided by your skill rank cubed.

  Alex blinked at this notification, as summoning the armor was effortless in the Qi-saturated caverns above, but realized he shouldn’t be surprised. Why wouldn’t it be draining, pulling Dark Qi armor out of nothing more than the ambient waste energies all around? At least each increase in rank gave a massive increase in the duration he could hold it. At Rank 3, it would be almost half an hour before he needed to spend another Qi point maintaining it. Perhaps that signified the time before his armor naturally evaporated back to its free-flowing state.

  Then he saw it up close, that wondrous contraption of gold, crystal, and chrome, and all other thought fled his mind.

  Artificer skill check made!

  For a time, Alex just stared at the contraption, as still as the forest all around, his mind racing to understand the impossibly complex Qi matrices responsible for the magnificent artifact before him. Until, at last, he thought he understood perhaps its most basic function, eyes alighting upon a single sphere placed in a ringed tray in the heart of the device.

  And when trembling fingers caressed several surface indentations upon the crystal device, sonorous notes filled the air, and the walls went suddenly opaque, displaying a magnificent tapestry of interconnected strands laden with such profound meaning that Alex fell to his knees, shaking with awe.

  He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was gazing upon something profound.

  He didn’t know if he was tasting divinity or supreme understanding, or perhaps glimpsing a pristine equation explaining profound truths of this universe.

  For all that he couldn’t understand a single word.

  He shook his head and sighed, so hungry to understand the knowledge he knew was being displayed.

  It was like a puzzle he felt so close to solving, a tantalizing tingle in the back of his mind.

  Cautious hands covered in protective Qi carefully picked up the globe, somehow sensing that the device before him truly was like an exotic projector, and this miniature crystalline ball was the movie, or perhaps set of equations would be the better word, that was being displayed.

  For long moments, he gazed with fascination upon the surface, eyes peering endlessly into the weave of shimmering multicolored strands that Qi Perception and Artificer let him sense through the globe.

  Then he took a deep breath, finally turning around and beholding the chamber in its entirety, taking in the exotic projector surrounded by a circle of indented stone that might have been intended as seating, though there were grooves in the benches every few feet, almost as if those sitting had... no. That was absurd.

  He then took in the crystal shelving beside the projector, noting not one but dozens of globes just like the magnificent treasure in his hand.

  He took a deep breath before carefully pulling out yet another and placing it in the odd projector, and an entirely new display of shimmering, interwoven strands was displayed, bringing to mind everything from a thousand magical runes to the very strands of potential in each cell of his body that so aptly defined who and what he was.

  The display seemed to hint at all of that, and more.

  Then the ball took on a faint sheen and slowly began to rotate in its holder, and Alex was captivated by the magnificent kaleidoscope of shifting patterns and colors, his mind reeling with the most profound of insights he could almost, but not quite, put into words.

  He knew it was madness, no doubt perilous, and would destroy a priceless prize that would net him a material fortune, or push him ever close to forging his next Bronze cord.

  Yet when the impulse to unwind his closest kept prize, the high-grade greater beast core, and put its crystalline surface to his eye, glimpsing the flashing patterns and flow of Qi through his greater beast core while simultaneously attempting to draw in all the locked potential of that magnificent prize, he did not hesitate.

  And suddenly, he understood.

  Between one heartbeat and the next, he was the young man frothing and spasming on the ground, the projector, and every single crystal globe on the display.

  He was a thousand thousand secrets revealing all the wondrous dances of the elements. He was Fire consuming Wood drinking in Water quenching Metal drawn from Earth. He was the flash of Lightning between Water and Air, the trio sparking life itself in Wood linked to Spirit in the instant metabolism gave the energy of life through Fire once more.

  He was the Shadow between the elements and the Darkness of chaos and change, that which allowed entropy to exist and thus catalyzed the evolution of all things. And he was Time itself, that which allowed the story of existence to be told, such that all moments were not perpetually frozen upon a single page.

  He was the Fated progression of time moving forward, yet the twilight of Shadow and chaos, the free will of Spirit, allowing even preordained Fates to be shifted and altered, and thus the cycle was complete, and the twelve elements of creation and destruction, the divine tools of reality itself, Alex at last understood.

  You have chosen to channel your Pristine Greater Beast Core into pure insight, manipulating tools no mortal cultivator has ever touched before!

  Alien paradigm detected.

  Save versus oblivion successful! Eternal Fox modifiers in effect. Save versus madness made! Eternal Fox cultivation is forging new synaptic links as fast as old ones are destroyed! Congratulations! You have imprinted a hyper-advanced visualization matrix and fifty crystals containing (undefined) terabytes of knowledge upon your brain!

  Scholarship has been permanen
tly boosted!

  You have had a major breakthrough in your comprehension of Elemental Qi!

  With a desperate cry, Alex found himself drowning once more, this time in knowledge both alien and terrifying. It was all he could do just to gasp for insight as he was flooded by an incomprehensible flood of data. And for all that he was shaken by the profound epiphany that had struck him, glimpsing the underpinnings behind so many fundamental properties regarding the flow of Qi that perhaps no human cultivator had ever glimpsed before, it didn’t change the fact that he understood only the tiniest fraction of all the hidden meanings within the dozens of globes he had seared into his mind.

  But the magnificent tapestry of Qi, so many different strands woven into so many incredible patterns, had given him a profound insight like no other. He would have laughed for sheer joy, despite the agony of his throbbing skull, knowing what his next step had to be, had he not collapsed in a comatose heap, his gift frantically trying to repair the fragile mind he had almost destroyed.

  21

  Alex groaned, rubbing his head, surprised to find himself in his sacred ring’s library once more, though more than happy to grab the chocolate eclair a smiling WiFu handed him, taking sips of the sweet rich coffee as well.

  His ancient mentor tipped the brow of his tricorn hat, looking every inch the dashing inspector of a thousand years ago. “I sense you have been quite busy, favored disciple. And your brain, so close to being fried clean out of your skull.” He gave a curious tilt of his head. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you had actually managed to access a certain divine sanctuary. But of course, that’s absolutely impossible. The air is thick with choking Dark Qi that would poison any normal cultivator within hours, sooner if he actually dared to use his gifts, and not even a fallen Gold former headmaster, roaring like the twisted beast he had transformed himself into, could hope to cross the barriers we put in place.”

  His wicked smile grew as Alex paled and trembled.

  “Careful, don’t spill your coffee. Tastes almost like hot chocolate, doesn’t it? They mixed cacao and coffee beans in the most delightful of blends before steaming their brew and mixing that wondrous concoction with goat’s cream and honey, and you don’t even want to know how far I had to go to find any shop that served a brew so like what you remember. Why, I had to travel the length of several Earths, hopping over to the farmost corner of our delightful little empire just to find it!” He chuckled softly. “Or at least, the fragrant aroma and memory of it, so many dreaming mortals eagerly awaiting their first cup to start the day, when of course any sensible person starts his day with either rice wine or tea.”